


"Take my hand."

by unwieldyink



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Claustrophobia, M/M, dia day 5, drabble a day challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:59:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24332449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unwieldyink/pseuds/unwieldyink
Summary: “Can you shadow travel us out?”“Of course,” Nico said. He took Will’s arm and then leaned into the wall of the pit, ignoring how dry his mouth felt. He called the shadows to obey him, but nothing happened. Panic fluttered in his chest. “I— I need to be calm,” Nico said. “My heart’s beating too fast right now.”“What, from the fall?”“Well, partly. But also…” Nico took a deep breath in. “Um, now might not be the best time to mention this, but I’m claustrophobic.” Nico felt hot, and he knew his hands were slick with sweat. “Like, really claustrophobic.”.um. angst time. drabble a day- day 5.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 7
Kudos: 194





	"Take my hand."

**Author's Note:**

> tw for claustrophobia and panic attacks. it's nothing too dark but i want to put the warning just in case!

Nico sighed. Border patrol was always the worst job in capture the flag, just because it was so boring. He would stand here the whole game, and most likely never see one person from the opposite team. Surely, this must have been a punishment of some kind. Had he managed to piss anyone off this week? Nico couldn’t remember.

The only good thing about border patrol was that Will was stationed with Nico. That alone made it bearable— at least they could talk while they stood and waited for the game to end.

Almost an hour had passed with nothing more than idle chat when Nico sensed something moving in the trees.

He held up a finger to silence Will, scanning the area around them. Will readied his bow.

A hellhound exploded from the trees around them, followed quickly by two more.

“A pack?” Will exclaimed. “How the hell did a whole pack of hellhounds get through the border?”

“Who cares!” Nico called back. “Just kill them!”

He flew at the one closest to him, dodging a lethal bite before plunging his sword into its neck. It exploded into a pile of dust.

Nico turned to see Will grappling with another one. He’d just managed to lodge an arrow in its mouth, killing it, when the third beast reared up behind him.

“Will!” Nico leapt forward and tackled Will, just barely saving him from becoming a hellhound chew toy. The two of them fell hard and tumbled together down a hill.

Nico barely had time to understand what was happening before he and Will had slipped between two rocks at the bottom of the hill and fallen into a pit.

“Ow.” Nico clutched his head. “Will, are you ok?”

“I’m fine.” Will sat up next to him, making Nico realize that he was half-sitting on Will’s lap. The pit was barely wide enough for one person, much less two. Nico quickly pulled himself to his feet, followed close behind by Will.

Will reached up to the sliver of sunlight coming through the rocks up above, but he couldn’t reach it. He tried futilely to scale the wall of the pit, but couldn’t find more than one grip.

Nico swallowed a lump in his throat, pushing unconsciously against the side of the pit. He was not going to panic. No. Not now. All they had to do was climb back out. They were not trapped. No need to panic.

Will slid back down. “Alright, climbing is a no-go. Can you shadow travel us out?”

“Of course,” Nico said. He took Will’s arm and then leaned into the wall of the pit, ignoring how dry his mouth felt.

He called the shadows to obey him, but nothing happened. Panic fluttered in his chest.

“I— I need to be calm,” Nico said. “My heart’s beating too fast right now.”

“What, from the fall?”

“Well, partly. But also…” Nico took a deep breath in. “Um, now might not be the best time to mention this, but I’m claustrophobic.” Nico felt hot, and he knew his hands were slick with sweat. “Like, really claustrophobic.”

He must have sounded more scared than he intended, because Will’s tone shifted instantly. “Oh,” Will said. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re gonna get out of here.”

Nico nodded, knowing that will couldn’t see it in the dark but not trusting himself enough to speak. He pressed one hand against the wall of the pit. “Right. E-exactly. I mean, it’s not like… well, d-do you think… um…” Nico was taking heaving breaths now. “I- I need to sit down. I feel really lightheaded.”

He slid down the side of the pit, and from the sound of it, Will crouched with him. “Nico, hey. Slow your breathing down, you don’t want to hyperventilate.”

“U-um.” Nico took in another gasping breath. “I don’t know- I- I don’t think I can.” Dizziness slammed into him, and he had to lean against the wall of the pit to keep from falling over. “I can’t— there’s not enough air.”

“Yes, there is. As long as you breathe slowly and calmly, there definitely is. The only reason you feel like there isn’t is because you’re hyperventilating. Just calm down.” Will grabbed Nico’s shoulders. “Nico, slow down.”

“No!” Nico shrugged Will’s hands off. “You don’t understand. There’s not enough air because— because—“ Hot tears welled up in the corners of Nico’s eyes, and he pressed his palms to his eyes. “Oh, god, not now.”

“Not now?” Will asked. “What not now?” After a moment of no answer, he said: “Nico, tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s just— I can’t—“ Nico pressed his hands into his face even harder. “I can’t breathe!” He was now gasping for air so fast that he choked on nothing every few breaths. “I can’t breathe… just like in that damned jar… please, I can’t breathe!”

“Oh.” Will’s voice was soft. “Oh, of course. I forgot about that.” He moved closer, and Nico was momentarily distracted from his panic by the smell of Will’s shampoo. Maybe that’s what he should do, then. Focus on the things that were different. Focus on how this was  _ not _ that stupid jar.

But the reprieve only lasted for a moment before memories of brass walls and pomegranate seeds overtook Nico’s thoughts again. He choked on air once more, and something between a sob and a groan escaped him. “I can’t breathe,” he begged.

“Nico. Nico! Hey. Take my hand.” Nico’s hand fumbled around in the darkness before eventually finding Will’s. Will’s hand was warm, and clutching to Nico’s fingers tightly. Was Will afraid, too? “Hey, I- I can’t pretend to know what’s going on in your head right now, but… I need you to do something for me.”

“I can’t,” Nico said. “I can’t, I can’t.”

“Yes, you can,” Will assured him. “Look, I’ll help you. All you have to do is think about your cabin.”

“My… cabin?”

“Yeah.” Will squeezed Nico’s hand. “Can you try to imagine it? How it looks?”

“How can I think about my cabin when I can’t breathe?”

“This will help. Trust me. I promise. When you think of your cabin, what do you see?”

“My- my bed? And my dresser… and those pictures on top of it, of Hazel and you and all my friends. And…” Nico lost his focus, gasping for more air. But Will’s hand squeezing his own brought him back down. Will’s hand.  _ Will is here. _ The scent of Will’s shampoo.  _ That means you’re not where you think you are. _ Will’s breath on Nico’s cheek.  _ Because if you were where you think you are, then Will wouldn’t be next to you. Right? _

“The… light,” Nico continued. “From my bathroom. I always leave it on at night. Hazel’s bed. The ceiling fan. The rug.”

“Good,” Will said. “That’s great. What can you hear when you’re in your cabin?”

“The ceiling fan,” Nico repeated. “Crickets from outside, if it’s nighttime. People outside, if it’s daytime. The wood creaking every once in a while?”

“You’re doing amazing, Nico. Can you tell me what you would feel in your cabin?”

Nico squeezed Will’s hand, now.  _ Not in the jar. In my cabin. My cabin. _ “The wooden floor.” Nico imagined feeling it on his feet. “Or the rug near the center. My dresser is cold and metal. My bed… the sheets feel soft.” Nico put his hand down to the dirt floor of the pit, but willed himself to feel soft blankets instead. “Yeah… my blankets. My…”

Nico blinked, once, twice, slowly realizing that he was indeed feeling blankets instead of dirt. Will’s face seemed a lot more visible than it had a moment ago. Was that sliver of sunlight coming from underneath some curtains, instead of between two rocks?

“Oh,” Nico said. “We’re in my cabin.”

Will looked around quickly. “You did it!” He beamed at Nico.

“You were tricking me into shadow travelling us out,” Nico said. “How did you know that would work?”

“I’ve had to talk people down from panic attacks plenty of times before in the infirmary. That grounding technique where you describe what you see, hear, et cetera, is always what we use. The only difference was I had to make you think of somewhere else, to both calm you down and have you focus on where you were going to jump to. Two birds one stone.” He studied Nico’s face for a moment. “Is there something I can do to help?”

“Huh?” Nico suddenly realized his face was still streaked with tears. He quickly wiped them away with his sleeve. “Oh. No, no. I’m fine now.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m fine.” Nico took a deep, slow breath in, and let it out just as calmly. “Yeah, I’m good now.”

But Will seemed to notice Nico’s still-shaking hands. “Hey,” Will said. “Why don’t I open the curtains and get you some water. I think we both deserve a chance to take a breather.”

Nico nodded. “Will?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” Will got up and headed to Nico’s bathroom to get some water.

“And if you tell anyone about what just happened, I will break your kneecaps.”

Will laughed. “You wouldn’t.” He glanced back at Nico. “But don’t worry. I would never tell if you didn’t want me too.”

Nico nodded. “Thank you,” he said again.

“Hey, what are friends for?” Will said as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Nico stared at his hands. “Right,” he mumbled. “Friends.” 

**Author's Note:**

> [disclaimer] i've never myself had panic attacks, but i HAVE been the friend talking someone down from a panic attack more than once, and this was basically how it always goes. i don't mean to offend anyone! writing angst always makes me nervous bc i'm scared i'll upset people who actually deal with this stuff ;;


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